For anyone that's ever been parts of a performing arts group, you'll know what the title's all about. There's nothing quite like the peace and quiet that can be found after a long day and night of the first day's performance. All the lights are off, everyone's gone, and it's just you, standing all alone in the center of the stage of the large auditorium. You can just close your eyes, and all the voices and notes and music of all the performances of ages past blend together in a perfect tapestry, a symphony and Angel's Chorus, that can only be heard in such a place at such a moment. It is one of those magical moments, that should you ever get to experience it, you will cherish for a lifetime.

Working at an animal compound isn't so different sometimes. It can be busy. Some days are infinitely long. There's all the cleaning and diet preparation. There's the guiding an directing of all the volunteers with a hundred different projects that are all going on at the same time. There's the grounds-keeping that has to be done /today/ because there's a big tour in the afternoon. Then, after the tour, there's the feeding, watering, and other care and husbandry that happens on a day-in-day-out-rain-or-shine basis. There's the final walk-through to make sure all the cages are locked, and all it well and secure, and then, even the keepers can finally go home.

For me, I have always cherished those after-it's-all-done moments. All the work for the day is done. All the animals are fed and watered and have clean cages. All the volunteers have gone. All the tour groups have left. Even the safety walk-through is done. Finally, it's just me and the animals. Those are the most special moments. Those are the moments when all the "real" work is done, and I can have a little fun that can't be done any other time, such as taking the Evil Spotted Thing (aka Macumba) out for a walk.

This pic is of one such evening. It had been a busy day. I'm even still in my "tour guide" clothes. Macumba has a fun time roaming, but finally, even he is tired, and we're working our way back to his cage, so he too can bed down for the night.

This is my "After the Orchestra Goes Home" picture. It's about the final moments of loooooong day finally coming to a close, and getting to spend those magical moments with a wonderful friend. It was truly a special moment, and I'm fortunate to have a picture of it, taken by a good friend and colleague. Oh, and that's Drifter's cage in the upper left, even though he's not visible. :)

This picture was taken 09-Jul-05. The image was taken with a Canon EOS 10D and the EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens. The original was taken at full frame of 3072x2048x24b, ISO eqv 400, 1/180 shutter, f/5.6. This image was shrunken down for space conservation.

Disclaimer: I hate to have to put this on here, but the pic is copyright me. Please do not distribute, copy, alter, etc, without my permission. Having said all that, feel free to download and use it for your own inspiration.